L Rogues Darkstalkers: Vampire Hunter
by Louis the Rogue
Summary: Pt 2. A peculiar star hurtles towards the Earth, an ominous warning of events to come. Currently rated T for violence, language, disturbing images, and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1: Seven Years Hence

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter One: Seven Years Hence

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

The presence of the dark has always been strong; some say, as strong as that of the light. And yet, what when a light breeds darkness too?

This bizarre question became a stunning reality early in the Earth year 1990. Astronomers were expectedly the first to notice the sudden appearance of a new star in the sky. Barely a month afterward, the reports began filing in; an inexplicable increase in darkstalker attacks began to sweep the globe, seizing it with a fear unknown since the old days when mankind was a more superstitious lot and witch hunts were common.

As the year progressed, the world reeled from the sudden imbalance in the very forces of nature that held the world together. The star, or so claimed those in the know, was growing closer every day, and with it grew the hostility of the dark ones. Plant life flourished, while the quality of animal life began to rapidly diminish, society's already cumbersome decay becoming so foul that it could barely contain itself. While most people go about their business quietly, eager to ignore the present state of affairs, others are crying that it's the end of the world…

* * *

Somewhere in the Hungarian Alps, a blood-soaked example of the threat currently posed by the dark haunted a mountain pass, its' lone katana making travel through the area virtually impossible. Released from his prison even as the illusion that bound him was relinquished, the Red Reaper known as Bishamon had come to lurk in this barren place, eagerly drawing sustenance from any passersby.

It was near dusk one day that the Evil Samurai spotted a caravan on the horizon. Crouching behind the makeshift shrine he had built for himself, the ghost in the armor peered out from under his helmet, waiting patiently for the time to strike.

As the wagon train drew near, he was almost puzzled; he had expected merchants, but based upon their flamboyant outfits and jovial manner, he could have taken these ones for performers; perhaps migrating gypsies?

They were all the same to him, cattle, save for one that stood out solely by the unusual "aura" she possessed. Barely eight years old, the little girl sat quietly beside a large, fat man with a beard. She wore a plain periwinkle dress over a white blouse tied with a large red bow around the neck. Her hair, incredibly long, was braided into twin pigtails, and her pale face seemed dominated by a pair of large blue eyes that held the strangest lack of emotion in them; not unlike the eyes of the brown-haired doll in the red dress she held in her arms.

The girl would occasionally glance around at the scenery, completely ignoring the concerned looks that the man insisted on giving her. The man, an uncle that had been the closest thing to a guardian she had known since her parents' death, knew his niece well enough to know she had a 'sixth sense' for danger, and so when she would look to the distance, as if trying to escape, he grew fearful for the safety of the camp. Finally, unable to stance the tension that had been building for hours, he spoke with a wavering voice, "Anita, it does not do to dwell on that which we cannot prevent, eh?"

The little girl looked up at him with a trace of sadness, like someone trying not to cry at a funeral, and spoke to him with that soft, distant voice, "I am in mourning; you are all going to die…"

The look on the man's face was purely horrified, and became more so as the horses reared up with a sudden whinny. He looked forward with a start to see the cacophony of burning wood and piercing screams that lay before him. Indeed, fire was the last thing he saw as a burning wagon wheel flew up, as if thrown in his direction, and knocked him from the stagecoach, pinning him underneath to his fate.

From somewhere in the wreckage, the figure of the little girl emerged silently, turning after she had traveled a few feet from the wreckage and viewing the spectacle as if standing over a grave.

She did not see the red-armored figure standing behind her with his sword raised high in the air, pointed downward, but she knew he was there. Bishamon glowered down at her; how had she survived the carnage? What was her secret? It did not matter, he told himself as the thrust his blade downward; she would die soon enough.

However, he had not expected his blade to be diverted by a random object spinning through the air in his direction. He clearly saw the shine of a large curved broad-blade; an attack he barely had time to dodge before it boomeranged around, landing in a perfect hover on the back of its' owner. He was tall, with tanned skin stretched over the well-toned muscles of a monk, his long brown hair hanging in a single braid behind him save for a rogue bang over his well chiseled face and the dark eyes within it. He wore a rich red and bronze colored robe held in place with a sky blue belt, and golden bangles over his wrists and neck. Most noteworthy of all, one of his eyes possessed a strange, fiery glow to it, not unlike the glowing red eye at the head of the "living blade" on his back, whose end was curved to look like a toothed mouth.

Bishamon skidded to a mid-stance as he eyed the stranger, "You too are of the dark? Come then! Let us cross swords and see whose is the greater!"

The strange man curled back his lips, revealing tightly gritted teeth, through which he spoke with an almost desperate look in his frantic eyes, "Girl! Get out of the way! I would not want your death!"

Anita looked over to him indifferently, "We all must die eventually."

The man was panting, "Not you. Not now. MOVE!" With no more warning than that, he dashed forward off a heel with alarming speed, elbowing the girl aside as he drew his blade from above and swung it downward to engage the ghastly armor.

Sword met sword before a fiery backdrop as the two powerful warriors put their weight behind their blades, each struggling with audible grunts to maintain a stalemate. As they did so, their visages became more intense, an ethereal black smoke rising in the air around them, witness to the dark power emanating from within.

Anita slowly drew herself to her feet, clutching her doll tightly as she watched, the scene reflecting along with an emotion in her eyes that had not been there before; a bitter glare.

Both fighters began to literally scream out, putting every bit of their power into the effort as one tried desperately to push the other back. Finally, Bishamon gasped with an echo as he felt his own feet sliding slowly along the ground. He looked down in shock to see that it was horribly true, then up to see that the expression on the face of his opponent was not a confident smirk as expected, but a cold glare all the same.

Pushing back with all his might, the red-armored specter found himself growing more and more powerless every time he looked into those focused eyes. "How is this possible?", he cried out at length.

The opponent, still staring him down, mouthed an answer, "Those who are made of darkness cannot compare to those who hunt the darkness."

With a hiss, Bishamon dropped his blade and rolled gracefully to the side, the katana rising to attack the hunter even as the owner made his getaway.

With a directed bat of his own sword, the man sent the blade returning to its' owner in a most unusual manner; directly into the plate on his back and out the front, piercing one of the demonic eyes in the chestplate. With a horrible cry, Bishamon fell to his knees, the soul within the armor escaping as a mist, leaving the individual pieces to fall, seemingly lifeless now.

The man lowered his sword with a thud to the ground, the glow in his left eye dimming as he looked to the girl, "Will you be alright?"

Anita, still glaring, threw the doll at him, "Thanks to you! You should have let me die! You should have let me join my mother!"

With almost no effort, the man caught the doll in one hand, and looked it over, "This doll; it reminds you of your mother, doesn't it? I saw you clinging to it."

The girl said nothing, but kept her focused glare on him.

The man returned an equally focused stare, holding the doll up and snapping its' head off between two of his large fingers, "Look at it. Your mother is dead."

"Damn you!", Anita screamed, tears welling up as she clenched her fists.

"So, you can cry", the man said coldly, "That means you can also feel. Your mother wouldn't want you to live your life in her shadow. She would want you to feel; she would want you to live." Without another word, he dropped the headless doll and turned to walk away.

Walking up slowly, Anita picked up the doll in her arms and walked after the stranger, dogging a few feet behind him. After some time, the man looked back at her, "I am a vampire hunter; why do you follow me?"

The girl stared up at him sincerely, "Your name is Donovan Baine; I follow you to watch you fail."

* * *

The amphitheater, with its' rows of seats filled with spectators and a high dome held up by a golden frame, was enormous. The dirt floor of the arena itself now supported a square wooden stage with stairs on each side, upon which predictably sat amplifiers with speakers that were large, even given the near-thousand fans that had turned out, along with an enormous Union Jack carpet upon which, in turn, stood a lone guitarist, red and black Schecter in hands, and a strange purple skinned and blue bellied one-eyed creature with red lips resembling a freakish lobster on the black and red drumset behind.

The guitarist, his mane of lavender hair luxuriously laying over his ivory skin, stood in his trademark violet Union Jack emblazoned trousers with a black leather codpiece and black leather belt tucked into studded leather boots that were dominated on one leg by a spiked black leg cuff. The fingerless violet gloves with their pyramid studs wrapped tightly over his nimble hands as they flew across the frets in a wild, distorted solo, accompanied by a steady, driving beat from his "associate" behind.

Zabel Zarock, now known throughout the Makai as Lord Raptor, smiled confidently; the fans were eating it up. Since his tutelage under the vicious Marionette, he had grown sneakier, craftier, and even genuinely wiser. She had his respect, as much as anyone did, and before sending him back into the Human World to continue his quest, she'd even left him with a parting gift; the handy little hellbeast currently on the drums, whom he had named Le Marta.

His plan seemed foolproof this time; he had arranged to be dropped off in Japan, where the current state of Americanization saw the country currently in the throes of the time period where he would have been at his biggest. Posing as an imitator of an obscure rock legend, himself of course, he had done the impossible and proven there is rock after death. Now it was only a matter of time until he accumulated the power he needed from these frail humans to accomplish his greater goal; the destruction of Jon Talbain, Demitri Maximoff, and every other darkstalker that stood between him and the "ultimate reward" promised by Ozomu so long ago.

Or so he thought. Among the raving fans, who looked like a bizarre mesh of punks, Goths, and other enlightened rebels, stood two twin oriental girls as pale as the moon, each dressed in an enormous-sleeved black kimono tied with a large gold bow at the waist. One wore her shoulder length, dark blue hair in an angular curl, while the other wore her shoulder-length, dark brown hair limp and straight.

"Do you suppose he'll suspect our auras among the crowd, sister?", the brown-haired one's voice spoke in the mind of the other as she looked forward.

The blue-haired one smiled almost as confidently as the self-proclaimed God of Metal onstage, returning the telepathic message, "His ego's so swollen he won't have time to notice a couple of girls like us. This is almost too easy."

Zabel closed his eyes, swinging the guitar down low and moving into a steady, four-chord grind, the drum beat slowing just enough to balance out as his voice echoed through the mike and over the crowd with an enigmatic distortion that made it all the more intriguing, cementing the entranced state of the audience. Though sung in the native tongue of Japan on this performance, the words were originally written as follows;

_Far away, I crossed the crimson landscape_

_Failing in my health_

_Long ago, I passed the test of faith by_

_Believing in myself_

_I am the void; you're all a part of me now_

_Rejoice! Rejoice!_

_We all are one; the truth consumes you fully_

_Lift up your voice!_

Of course, as he felt the energy of the now-willing participants in his occult scheme flow steadily into him, Zabel could not have imagined the two girls, unfazed, slowly pushing their way to the front. Even if he had, he was too drunk on the lifeforce that had just been given him to really care at this point. As such, he was not particularly affected when the blue-haired girl leapt onstage, her sleeves flying back to reveal a metallic claw weapon on each hand with three blades each the size of longswords.

The girl kept her eyes focused sharply on him, sending her sister a final message in her mind before they began, "Alright Lin-Lin, let's take this bozo out."

The brown-haired girl, Lin Lin, nodded once and flung a pale hand into the air, vanishing in a puff of smoke save for a golden parchment charm that floated like a feather through the air, landing on the blue-haired girl's forehead. "There. That ought to make up for whatever power you've stolen", she smirked, lowering into a crouch stance, her claws crossed over her front in a metallic triple x.

Zabel rolled his head to face her and smiled lecherously, ending the song on a dissonant screech, "Marta, keep the beat mate; I'll need some background music for this!" Rounding his fingers up the fretboard, the ghoulish guitarist began an ascending rift, his body beginning to smolder, seemingly from within, the higher he got, until at the shrill, echoing peak, he had become his true self; a skeletal horror with spiked hair.

The blue-haired teen rolled her eyes, "Impressive; Not! Let's get this over with!" With a screeching leap, she uncrossed her claws in a split second and brought them down in a massive attack in another.

Leaping aside, Zabel spun his guitar, which exploded in a flash of red light to reveal a black chainsaw with a blade twice as long as any one of her claws now strapped to his arm, "Nice move sweetheart; keep it up and I might get a scratch 'er somethin'!"

The girl let out a heh before thrusting her claw forward inches from the ghoul's face, "Let's see what you think of this…"

Zabel blinked, "I think it's prolly Made in China?"

She giggled in response, "Not that; THIS!" Without warning, the claw shot forward on a straight chain and belted him across the face, sending him spinning off the stage, "I crack myself up sometimes…"

No sooner had she got the line out than Zabel burst up through the wood of the stage in an ascending spin, chainsaw high in the air as he came to a stop, "I'll crack you up!"

The teenage hunter took her stance, "Alright then, but this time it's for real!"

With naught but a mad cackle, Zabel flung himself downward at her in response.

* * *

The sunset was cherry red, fluffy pink clouds overlaying the gold behind and casting it out in bold rays across the English sky. Rainy days were good for remembering, and sunsets helped you forget; that's the way Jon Talbain looked at things.

The seaside fishing village with its' wooden marinas and brick homes where he'd been living for the past seven years, hell the entire east side of the Atlantic Ocean, just held too many memories for him. As he stood on the docks that evening in his brown leather coat and blue jeans, he knew he'd be gone with the next boat.

Of course, it was just his luck to get a curveball thrown at him whenever he decided to step up to the plate in life. The boat, a gigantic white and blue cruise ship, did pull in as expected, but he hadn't figured on a certain catwoman with her royal blue hair pulled back into a neat, curled tail to come stepping dramatically down the ramp in a sparkling white dress with a beige, low-brimmed hat to match.

"You", was all he could get out as he saw her walking toward him. It was so like a dream, and the astonishment must have been apparent on his face.

And, like in a dream, she gave him that whimsical smile of hers, "Miss me?"

He wanted to pinch himself, but was too afraid, "Every damn day."

* * *

Aulbath stood firm on the snowy mountain, maintaining a fluid stance and breathing heavily as he focused his gaze on his opponent; the equally readied Quatos. He couldn't help but smile as his gills rippled with the breeze, "This time you won't be able to say I have the home team advantage, Furry One!"

Quatos returned the competitive grin and slammed one large fist into the opposite palm as he stood flat-footed in the cold, "Your funeral, Scales."

The merman drew back in a deep inhale, throwing his chest forward with his head as he released a massive wave of sonic energy at the sasquatch, who reflexively crossed his large arms over his face and torso in a block, the force of the attack barely succeeding in getting his large feet to skid to the edge of the cliffs.

Quatos looked up, only half-surprised to see a green-scaled figure diving out of the cloudy gray sky at him, a confident gleam in his sparkling blue eyes. What did surprise him was when the aquatic wonder was suddenly knocked asunder by what appeared to be a flashing beam of red light that crackled with electricity as it struck his body and sent him crashing into the mountainside below.

The yeti looked up, his beady red eyes narrowing as he saw not one, but three figures hovering in the sky at just close enough a range to make out details. They were strange creatures, resembling barrel-chested figurines made of grayed steel with oblong arms and legs that seemed to gyrate with thousands of tiny mechanical pistons from within. The head, a flattened looking thing with large, bulbous red eyes like traffic lights and a tri-circular ornament on top, was the most bizarre of all.

Quatos was about to give the things a piece of his mind, but they spoke first in flat, mechanical tones that seemed to be in perfect unison, "Sentient lifeforms detected. Challenge level 14. Initiate extermination phase Final Guardian B."

Gritting his large fangs together in a growl, the mighty sasquatch slammed his fists into the ground, "Come on! I'll take you all!"

Of course, as the chest-plates of the mechanical assassins slid open to reveal large circular cannons hidden underneath, the insides glowing with a deadly blue light, he began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.


	2. Chapter 2: Earth Under Seige

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Two: Earth Under Siege

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

Outside the walls of the old mountain laboratory, a pair of figures watched that night as utter chaos rained down upon the village in the valley below, lighting the darkness like a tidal wave of fire. The stiff breeze ripping through his spiky blonde hair, Victor Von Gerdenheim knew it would only be a matter of time now. This wave had set a course, and they were directly in the way.

Emily, clinging to his side, looked up, "It is a sign, little brother, but of what?"

Victor's face was unchanging, a grim stare, "I know only this. I will not go quietly."

With a mighty, echoing bellow that would make a lion blush, the titanic Victor leapt from the cliff on which he stood, his feet skidding along the rocky slopes below as if he were skiing, and at length, made a somersaulting dash into the town in the valley.

The world around him was ablaze, and not far above, three abstract shapes loomed ominously not more than five feet above the crumbling buildings, hailing laser bolts of a violet hue down on the panicking villagers, who proceeded to crumble into fine dust as they were engulfed by the deadly lights, their final screams a lingering clue that they had been there in the first place.

Flash after flash, cry after cry, Victor shuffled his way through the convoluted mesh of panic and death. As he stared up at the proponents of this apocalyptic cacophony, his large hands clenched into tight fists, and tensing his entire body as he reared back, he thrust his arms forward, launching a two-fisted ball of lightning at one of the things, knocking it out of the sky.

Less than a few yards in front of him, the thing had crashed down, its' dented armor highlighted gold by the roaring flames. It began to rise, but the avenging golem dashed forward in a skating half-kneel, thrusting one knee into it so hard that the killer machine was torn in two. Though its' frame still emitted sparks like a live wire, it moved no more.

Now hovering directly above, two of the things began to open and close compartments of their body so fast it looked like mecha origami as they switched from floating orbs of death to massive jackhammers with humanoid forms atop them that jolted down at their target with perfect accuracy.

His body reeling from the shock of the blow, Victor found himself flung through a wall, the roof above collapsing down into flames around him.

The two mechanical monsters had assumed their roughly bipedal statue forms now, and stood side by side. "Sensing increase in lifeforce", they chanted in unison, "Stay locked on target until termination is complete."

* * *

The sun was still setting over the seaside village as the two of them walked together. Talbain was tense, as if expecting it all to end any moment. He kept trying to throw this beauty by his side a clever one-liner, but his mouth was dry for the words.

Felicia, for her part, was as talkative as ever, but the topics of conversation were obviously small talk; anything from how nice the sunset looked to how her musical career had really kicked off to rumors about the star. She just couldn't bring herself to say the things she was really thinking.

An hour into their walk around the village, Talbain couldn't take it anymore; even if it was a dream, he would only be prolonging his torture like this. "It's been a long time", he said at length, "and I have to ask myself how you found me here."

Felicia tossed her hat aside, and finally letting down that gorgeous blue hair of hers, flashed him a dazzling smile, "When you're on the road as much as me, you hear things. Not long ago, I was touring in London and heard talk about a fisherman living by the sea; the strongest man you ever saw, with eyes like a cloudy night. Call it a hunch, but I had to know for myself if you were really still hanging around these parts."

"I don't move around much", Talbain half-grinned, "Guess I'm a creature of habit."

"You're a creature, alright", she mused as she skirted round in front of him, their eyes meeting now, "But you're also one of the most unpredictable men I've ever known. How could I not be on board for a mystery like that?"

"Some mysteries are best left unsolved", Talbain said gravely, "What makes you sure I'm worth the time?"

"I'm just sure", she said with that cheerful smile, "And anyway, we have plenty of time now, right?"

"Yeah", Talbain said with a dreamy look, "All the time in the world."

As if to stand against them, an explosion rocked the world around them at that moment, smoke billowing through the alleys and glass shattering in every direction. When the smoke cleared, the couple stood amidst the wreckage, coughing from the dust.

"Looks like trouble. C'mon!", Talbain bellowed as he ran down a back alley, his keen ears following the sounds of screams in the distance.

Felicia heard them too, and began bounding after her dear friend. "All the time in the world", she thought to herself, "I wonder how long that is."

* * *

Clang after deafening clang, the sparks were flying. Like fencers locked in a deadly dance, Zabel and the teenage hunter parried spectacularly across the damaged stage, each turning at just the right time to match a given attack. If Zabel slashed down with his chainsaw, she would thrust up with a claw to impede him. If she slashed horizontal, he was quick to reel aside and deflect the blow as an afterthought.

After several flawless stalemates, both fighters instinctively leapt back, landing in mid-stances on opposite sides of the makeshift arena. Strobelights flashed in every direction, giving the scene a very club feel, and the crowd that had come for a concert was cheering for a wild brawl. They couldn't help but smile at each other from across the stage.

"You're pretty lively for a dead guy", the girl quipped with an amused smirk.

"Pretty spry yerself, sweetheart", Zabel returned with that ghoulish grin of his.

The girl stood up straighter now, brushing the charm off her face with her breath, "The name's Lei-Lei, grease-hog, and I'm nobody's sweetheart."

Zabel sprung off a heel, chainsaw out in front as he flew across the arena at her, "We can fix that, baby; I just need to chip at that attitude!"

As he had cleared barely half the ground between him and his beautiful assailant, the deathly rogue was rocked backwards from the force of a random explosion of white light from the center of the stage.

Lei-Lei, far from the progenitor of the blast, leapt backwards from the stage and landed firmly on her heels, claws raised and ready.

Zabel flew backwards from the smoke like a rag doll, slamming hard into a couple of unwary spectators and knocking them prone. As he stood, brushing himself off, he glanced to the remnants of the stage with an incredulous look on his face, "The bloody hell wuz that…"

Rising from the ashes like mechanical phoenixes were three of the statuesque robots. Unanimously, they spoke, "Negative auras detected. Classification: Undead. Begin extermination sequence Omega".

Now standing in a triangle, the killer machines spun in place, their chest-plates opening and glowing with a brilliant white light from within. A low-frequency rumble was the only sound proceeding the magnificent, blinding flash that erupted thereafter, shattering the frame of the auditorium even as it filled the building with horrified screams.

* * *

Gliding solo on her slender wings over the burning wreckage that once was the noble city of Edinburgh, Morrigan watched the carnage from a bird's eye view. "Meh, and I liked this city", she scowled, "What brutal terrorists have these mortals birthed now…?"

As if to answer her question, a trio of mechanical figures began a steady descent through the dark clouds above, their chest-plates opening to reveal a set of cannons, which promptly fired massive rays of blue light down at her.

Her warrior's instinct taking over, Morrigan closed her eyes and moved in the one direction the laser's heat would not be intersecting, nimbly dodging the attacks in a single acrobatic flip. Opening her emerald eyes now, she glared up at her assailants, her hands glowing from the palms with a golden light, "Sneak attacking a lady? What chivalry…"

With a wicked smile, she thrust two screaming comets of light up at two of the three mechanized assassins, the attacks hitting square on target to their squashed-looking faces and sending them sailing downward into the river running through the blazing inferno that was the cityscape.

Her smile now a sideways smirk, the flawless femme fatale raised one finger to her fine petaled lips and blew, as if her hand were a gun, "Better get out of town while you can."

Behind the remaining robot, several more shapes began to descend from the clouds, landing on the remains of the surrounding buildings, their gears twisting them into the shape of high-tech cannons, which began a steady stream of fire at the lone warrior.

Pulling her wings around her in a makeshift cloak, Morrigan stood fast against the assault, but as blast after blast rocked her flawless form, she soon began to tire and, at length, was knocked from the sky by the merciless barrage, crashing to the ground below.

Slowly standing from somewhere within the flames of a now-ruined church, she glowered up at the phalanx of steel soldiers headed her way. "This is no challenge", she muttered to herself, "This is suicide."

* * *

The mountain temple stood quiet, its' stone archways, towering stairways, and gothic statues left undisturbed for ages. For the first time in over five-hundred years, a living being readied himself to enter the rusted gates.

Donovan raised one hand, making a series of gestures comprehensible only to those of his order, and opened his eyes, "The search for the truth… begins now!"

Anita following at his heels, he pushed open the large steel door and entered the dark passage leading into the temple's core…


	3. Chapter 3: Phobos of the Apocalypse

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Three: Phobos of the Apocalypse

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

Dust stirred as the shadows of the long-forgotten sanctuary were interrupted by the glow of Donovan's form, enveloped in a white halo, treading silently down the halls like a ghost.

As he entered a large, circular room with the stone statue of an enormous man in plate armor, shield and spear in hand, serving as its' central column, the monk closed his eyes and began to make another series of gestures. Moving into the room as his hands moved in wild, seemingly incomprehensible patterns, he finished the ritual by laying his palms on the foot of the statue and uttering a phrase that Anita did not understand.

She did, however, note that just then a huge _ki_ flowed forth from Donovan, stealing the glow from his own body and placing it into the statue. As the titanic stone warrior radiated, it spread the glow along triangle-patterned faults to the rest of the room, causing the whole of it to emit a low, humming frequency. Finally, the statue's eyes began to glow like stars with the same mystic power.

"Who seeks the Power of the God of War?", the statue bellowed.

Donovan kneeled, hands now in a protective gesture over himself, "I am but a simple monk. I seek not power, but wisdom. I seek knowledge of the God of War."

* * *

Talbain, the wolf, dived through the smoke, his body assuming that comet-like aura as he rammed into one of the mechanical monsters with a howl. Springing from the thing in a backflip, he landed in a crouch. "Whoever the hell you are, you picked the wrong place to level", he growled.

The statuesque machine he had thrashed was badly dented, but as its' plated body began to fold in and out on itself, wires and sparks enshrouding the transformation, it was as new in a matter of seconds. "Class B+ warrior detected. Begin termination immediately", the mechanized juggernaut spoke flatly as it unflinchingly advanced toward the werewolf.

Leaping from behind, Felicia caught the creature off guard and planted her razor sharp claws into the back of its neck, springing forward off her hind legs and taking its' head. As the robot stumbled behind her, sparks erupting from its' neck, she landed on her feet in front of Talbain and winked down at him, "It isn't how much you put into the hit that counts; it's where you place it."

As Talbain stood, Felicia's eyes suddenly widened, her body riveted by an intense electrical shock. Falling unconscious, she landed in Talbain's arms, and he could see one of the assailants down the way; another of the automatons.

"Felicia!", he called out vainly, hoping to bring her around, but she was out cold. Though he couldn't sense any life energy from these creatures, he had heard another land behind him and knew he was surrounded. Clutching the limp body of the woman who so captivated him close, he narrowed his eyes and prepared an escape plan.

* * *

Aulbath and Quatos slammed back hard into the side of the mountain, their bodies making a sizeable indent. They had barely taken out half a dozen of these things, and more kept on coming.

"Any bright ideas?", Quatos mused as he looked to his friend with tired eyes.

Aulbath nodded slowly, still catching his breath, "It is time to take the fight inside."

Quatos nodded with a large grin, "I hoped you'd say that." Gathering his strength, he turned and thrust his fist into the mountainside, making a door where there wasn't one, and jumped into the darkness, followed hesitantly by his emerald-scaled ally.

As explosions from the outside sealed the door behind them in seconds, the pair of fighters ran deeper into the caverns, springing from rock to rock into the darkness below.

"We can't keep this up forever, Scales!", Quatos roared above the sounds of boulders falling all around them.

"We do not have to, Furry One", the merman mused, "Eventually they will realize that attacking from above is futile and come after us. Then we have the advantage."

Quatos furrowed his brows with a thoughtful look, "A passive aggressive attack? That's so like you…"

As the mechanical soldiers gathered above the heap of rocks that had been the mountaintop, they spoke as one, "Target has successfully evaded overt attacks. Change of tactics proves necessary. Entering seek-and-destroy program." The gears in their legs switching into the shape of drills, they began to tunnel underground in unison.

Deep within the mountain, Aulbath and Quatos waited over an underground stream. As the tremors began to get closer, Aulbath smiled confidently, "Be ready, my friend."

Quatos narrowed his eyes and followed suit on the grin, "You know it!"

As the near-ten of the things drilled their way out from above, chest-plates opening as they descended, Aulbath flicked his wrist at an angel, bringing his arm around to the side. In unison with this motion, a wave ascended from the stream, taking the majority of its' water, and battered the machines where they hovered.

No sooner than the robots had been saturated, Quatos inhaled a deep breath and released, freezing the water that had already invaded their gears into penetrating crystals of ice.

"Unable to continue program", the machines chanted as the light within their torsos began to swell at the expense of the larger body, "Requesting backup units. Sending target location in 3… 2…" With that, the lot of them went up in an electric lightshow.

"I think we got 'em", Quatos noted casually.

Aulbath nodded, but didn't seem as relaxed, "But for how long…?"

* * *

Lei-Lei rose slowly from the rubble, brushing herself off. "Well", she blinked, "That was uncalled for…"

Hovering above where the stadium had been, the three machines from before began to open their chest-plates, a bluish light glowing within, as their opponent emerged.

Noting the hum of their lasers, the ghostly hunter pulled a gong from her back and stood her ground, "You want to cook me? You'll have to catch me first!"

As the laser rays fired down at her, Lei-Lei struck the gong hard, the sounding echo sending a shock wave through the air that, amazingly, deflected the blasts back at their owner.

Moving to dodge, the machines hummed from within and fired again. Again, she repeated her tactic, but this time one of them moved behind her. As the things prepared to fire once more, she was barely in a position to reflect two of them.

Without warning, the rear-flanking robot fell to the ground in a heap, a buzz saw embedded in the back of its' head.

As one of the creatures moved to engage Lei-Lei in hand-to-hand combat, the other dashed toward the intruder, who himself was happy to oblige. Springing off his bony heels, Zabel met the creature halfway in a flying grapple, taking it with him to the ground in a crunching thud and cackling all the way.

"C'mon Hercules! Himme with yer best shot!", Zabel stood and taunted, then oof'ed as the mechanical monster took his bluff to heart and sucker-punched him in the gut hard enough to make a reverse dent out his backside.

"What a jerk; he has no tact whatsoever…", Lei-Lei muttered to herself as she deftly dodged a silver-gauntlet blow to her face.

Tunneling underground at random, Zabel sprang up from behind his assailant with lightning speed, elbow pointed downward. With the sudden extension of a blade from said elbow that jousted the length of his enemy from the head down, the machine fell.

Meanwhile, Lei-Lei had successfully cleared enough space between herself and her opponent to afford a crouch. Moving her hands in repeated hand gestures and chanting in a foreign language, she initiated her _chi_ spell. Rising from the ground, a series of ascending spikes caught the mechanized nuisance offguard, slicing it in two.

As the machine fell, and the spikes vanished in an echo of light, the girl turned to face her original target. Their eyes locked as the pair resumed a fighting stance, but for some reason, neither of them moved an inch.

After a brief standoff, Lei-Lei was the first to speak, "Tell me, Zabel Zarock, or "Lord Raptor" as you now prefer, why is it that you assisted me?"

Zabel blushed, taken aback, "Yer cute; what didja expect, a sonnet?"

To this, she rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I obviously have bigger fish to fry, so I'll deal with you later…"

As she walked off into the sunset, Zabel shrugged to nobody, "Women…" With nothing better to do, he began following her after a moment's pause.

* * *

His arms still crossed over his face as he knelt there, Donovan looked up to the statue.

"The God of War", it spoke, "Is, in reality, the God of Fortresses. His is the fire that no man can evade, and His is the rock no man can penetrate. A falling star shall be His coming, proceeded by Phobos; the gray sons of Mars. Ultimate and invincible, it is He who will conquer the world."

"The star… The gray sons… Then the signs are true", Donovan murmured, "The God of War is to conquer our world here and now."


	4. Chapter 4: Descending God of War

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Four: Descending God of War

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

However deafening the screams of a dying world may be to those who live on it, from space, it is quiet. That much can be said with certainty. Looking at the Earth below, in its' infinite beauty, the burning of the entire planet is but a brief interlude of lights to those who look on from above.

As he reached the edge of our atmosphere, the star had given Himself a name. The God of War would be known as Pyron to man and darkstalker alike. It was His will that had summoned the Phobos to destroy all of civilization, humbling the creatures of the Earth for the arrival of its' conquerer. His machinations had destroyed countless worlds before this, and His destiny would be to destroy countless more.

To Him, a world was only worth as much as its' ability to satisfy His curiosity. He was not simply a harbinger of destruction; that was the duty of the Phobos. Now that He had all the power in universe, His aim was to collect all knowledge, and thus, be truly invincible. To Earth, He had come, and His study would be the art of war.

In the Holy Lands, tanks skidded to a stop and soldiers unanimously ceased fire as the blinding light that had illuminated the night sky above as brightly as if it were day coalesced into a luminous entity in the rough shape of a humanoid.

The being before them was decidedly statuesque, His golden body the epitome of an Olympian god. Atop His head, a pair of upward-angled horns sat in place, and His eyes glowed within a rough face like two tiny red suns.

Uncrossing His arms from His chest as He hovered several hundred miles in the sky above, Pyron began to descend again, one foot after the other, as if he were treading down a flight of stairs.

Below, trained soldiers who would have gladly given their lives for a cause began to scream out, their bodies torn asunder by the power of the entity above as if they had been trapped in a nuclear explosion. There would be no remains; not of the warriors, their weapons, or the very land they had fought over. It all was vaporized nigh-instantaneously into a blackened pit.

Just ahead, the Holy City of Jerusalem, for which they had fought so hard, waited. No sooner than the armies below had been dissolved, Pyron ceased His walk and leapt forward in a pounce with a deafening roar, His body flaring like a comet. As he touched down, in the middle of the great city, a sonic boom could be heard all the way to Athens, the image of an unfathomably large mushroom cloud signaling that the Holy City had surrendered, in death, to the power of a foreign God.

* * *

The cloud could be seen from Athens, but the light of the supernovaic power could easily be seen in Romania. Within his favored tower in Zeltzereich, Lord Demitri Maximoff grew increasingly agitated.

"How unexpected, Milord, that a power of this magnitude should arrive on Earth adjacent to your conquering of the Demon World", the elderly vampire that was his loyal servant noted as he moved to lower the ebony drapes over the blinding light outside.

"Indeed", Demitri muttered with a growl, "And yet…" He rose from his throne, striding over to his most trusted assistant and placing a firm hand on his shoulder to thoroughly captivate his attention while they locked eyes. Demitri's was a menacing, fanged glare, "I have an idea most excellent. Why should I, the Lord of the Night, hide here in my castle like a fledgling spawn? No, that will not do; I shall rise to meet this challenge, conquer it with flying colors, and ascend to take my place in Makai all the stronger!"

The faithful old servant closed his eyes as Demitri retreated from him to exit the dark room, making a respectful bow, "Best of luck, Milord."

* * *

As Donovan rushed through the temple gate, Anita spoke from behind him, her tone as flat and emotionless as her expression, "To where from here?"

"The city of Athens", Donovan returned as he rushed down the mountainside.

"And when there?", Anita pressed.

Donovan stared ahead grimly as he spoke, "To fight the God of War."

"You speak in riddles and follow silly dreams", Anita fired, "If you go to Athens, you will die."

Donovan stopped abruptly, letting his arm drop, the sword in his hand crashing to the ground with a dissonant clang, "If I do not go to Athens, we will all die."

Anita moved beside him, her unfeeling little eyes looking up to him, "There are many warriors in this world. Why martyr yourself for those who hate and fear you?"

"I am no warrior", Donovan spat, his tone breaking, "I am a cursed man with a cursed destiny; that destiny is to destroy The Dark, and my quest begins with this One." Without another word, he hefted his sword and began walking forward toward the horizon.

Anita waited for a moment before following after, "He is a fool. He is a fool and he will die…"

* * *

As Pyron strode through the desert at a dramatic gait, He contemplated the ease with which Israel, the holy seat of Western religion, had fallen before Him. "To think, these mortals, who would fight to the death in defense of their 'truth', have offered me thus no challenge whatsoever."

Just then, an object landed with a clang at His feet. There lay the disembodied head of a Phobos, the wires hanging from its' neck barely sparking now.

Looking up, Pyron noted His challenger; a tall thing, swathed in linen and decorated with gold. Anakaris stood stiff, unwavering like a mountain, "Al-Qahira has seen the wrath of Mars before. Your destruction goes no further, sayeth the Sun!"

Pyron, who had stood there arms crossed in thought moments before, relaxed His stance, his featureless face stretching into an abstract grin of flames as His head titled sideways, "Well then, I have a challenger. Let us make this duel an amusing one!"

His body enshrouded in a white flame, Anakaris stood poised, making an upward palm gesture with his outstretched hand and chanting a cryptic phrase in his native tongue. Sparks of sunlight seemed to flare in the eyes of the stalwart mummy pharaoh as a field of emerald green energy shimmered around his opponent.

As the mystic green light began to tighten into coils around Him, Pyron stood motionless, His expression faded to a disaffected scowl without a mouth, "Is this all?"

"No!", Anakaris quirked a sudden, confident smile, "Feel the wrath of God, you fool!" With that, a stream of white sand spewed forth from the immortal king's mouth as he heaved forward with a roar.

As the sand fell over His ensnared form, Pyron could feel the grains of dust trying to burrow their way in. To Him, it was as the itch of sandpaper. He stood firm, a shock wave arcing off Him with the sound of a large bell and shattering the energy field around Himself.

As the radiant juggernaut sprang forward, hands open and palms raised, Anakaris clenched his fists, tightened his stance, and prepared to defend. However, before Pyron had cleared half the ground between them, His body vanished in a flash of ultraviolet light, appearing at an up angle, elbow pointed downward, and crashing into His opponent in a powerful slam that sent the linen-wrapped warrior skidding hard across the sands.

Anakaris, now on his face, spun round into a sit only to be stopped by the sight of a fiery palm, glowing with thecrimson flare of destruction, directly in front of his face.

Behind that was Pyron, who stood hunched over His fallen challenger. "Is this all?", He repeated.

Speechless, Anakaris cringed.

"I see", Pyron said flatly, steam escaping His hand as He gripped a screaming Anakaris by the face and caught him on fire. As the mummy king writhed in agony, his entire form burning wildly, Pyron stood straight and looked to the sunset, "I am thus disappointed once again. Can there be none to challenge Me on this planet called Earth? And yet… there was another power near. Yes, a stronger one. I will go and find that power now."


	5. Chapter 5: Planet Burning

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Five: Planet Burning

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

As Talbain rounded a corner, Felicia in his arms, and sprinted down the bricked alleyway, his incredible lupine speed was quickly overcome by one of the Phobos, who cut him off from the front.

Wasting no time, the desperate warrior channeled the whole of his _ki_ into a single potent backflipping kick, tearing the menacing robot in two without ever letting go of the still-unconscious catgirl.

Running through the explosion with blinding speed, he used the lights as a diversion for the pursuing units, giving him just enough time to duck into a manhole, pulling it over him less than a second before the smoke from the blast faded and crashing into the sewer water below.

As he ran aimlessly through the dimly lit passages of the town sewers, he would occasionally glance down at Felicia to see if she was coming around. "You're still as green as a clover, kid", he muttered with a grin to her, "But that's ok. I'll look after you."

As Talbain, the mighty warrior turned fugitive from his own destruction, knelt into a lightless tunnel and waited for the inevitable, he began to wonder who was going to look after him.

* * *

A mighty simian fist slammed through the virtual landslide of rocks that had closed off the makeshift tunnel. Quatos climbed out slowly from the wreckage of the mountainside, followed by Aulbath. 

"I wonder what's next", Quatos observed as he brushed himself off and had a look around the sunny mountainscape.

"My thoughts precisely", Aulbath nodded.

Just then, the merman's keen senses locked onto something that made him spin hard to the east, "Behold! A monstrous power this way comes!"

Before Quatos could even turn to look, it was upon them. Radiant beyond normal comprehension, the golden God that would call Himself Pyron hovered in the air, arms crossed, illuminating the land for hundreds of miles around.

"What is that thing!-?", Quatos cried out, his eyes burning from the intensity of the light.

"For you, I am a scientist", Pyron began, His form dimming to a tolerable golden hue, "And today My field of study is battle. Experiment Beta begins now. Be ready!" With the merest effort, the cosmic conqueror flung His fiery form down at them, a scorching wave of centrifugal force preceding Him.

Reeling to the side, it was all they could do to dodge the harsh attack, which left yet another sizeable crater in the mountainside, blasting rocks in every conceivable direction.

Backflipping from the blast and springing off his hands to presumed safety in the air, Aulbath sent a telepathic message to his furry friend, "I can distract him. Do that ice breath thing you do. It should cool this hothead down!"

Skidding to a stop on his large feet, Quatos nodded smugly and puffed a little steam out his nostrils for effect.

"They separate themselves to divide My attention, Pyron noted, "An amusing, if ineffective, strategy. I am not limited to close-range combat."

Bringing His hands together, Pyron began to form what appeared to be a miniature sun at His fingertips. When the ball had grown to nearly the same size as Himself, he pulled His hands apart, splitting the thing in two and launching one at each of His opponents.

Inhaling deep, Quatos let out a mighty roar, freezing the ball, which dropped to the ground, shattering into large crystals of ice.

Meanwhile, Aulbath's eyes flared a sky blue color as the attack meant for him was belted away by the unseen force of his psychokinetic will.

"We will not fall as easily as your usual prey…", Aulbath began, but was cut short as the enemy vanished in an instant, and appeared with the crackle of an elbow to the back of his neck in another. Eyes wide with shock, the noble green warrior fell face-first in silence.

Charging forward with a snarl, the fuming Quatos took his best shot at the God of War, putting everything he had into a single blue-haloed right hook.

As his fist made an impact, moving deeper and deeper in, Pyron's body melted back to accommodate, and then stopped at a rigid stalemate; the mighty sasquatch could move forward no further, struggle though he might.

Grappling the white ape round the shoulders with His wrestler's arms, Pyron lifted Quatos in a flaming embrace and headbutted him with a cruel laugh, releasing His now unconscious victim to fall helplessly down the side of the mountain, a trail of smoke behind him.

Lifting into the air, Pyron's eyes were once more to the horizon, "These warriors are no match. When will the true champion of this world make itself known to Pyron?"

* * *

Through a crystal ball, Demitri watched the conclusion of the battle from the sanctity of his darkness, "All too soon, my worthy opponent. All too soon." 

"Ready my zeppelin!", he ordered as he stood, motioning dramatically to his servant in the corner.

"Our destination, Milord?", the elderly vampire dared.

"Athens, of course", Demitri leered, "Where else would one expect to meet the God of War?"

"So, you have uncovered the identity of our enigmatic guest then?"

"So I have, my good man", the vampire managed a vicious smile, "It was predicted long ago that Mars would make Himself known to this world. If this is His incarnation, who better to prove my strength to? For if I can defeat a God, then a God am I!"

* * *

It was an old-fashioned desert settlement: the kind reminiscent of a spaghetti western. As a tumbleweed or three rolled across the dusty streets and whipped around the corner of a long-abandoned building, one might have expected a showdown at any moment. 

One would have presumed correctly. The sisters Lei-Lei and Lin-Lin walked cautiously through the streets, their eyes on the numerous broken windows of the ghost town's near-dozen buildings and their ears open for any strange noises in the wind.

Their intuition would serve them well, giving them just enough time to dodge a massive creature as it tore through the wall of a nearby building with its' razor sharp claws and leapt out into the street. Highlighted by the noonday sun, one could make out the black-furred thing as a hideous cross between a rat and a standing bear.

Her hands flying into a practiced gesture on the spur of the moment, Lin-Lin vanished in a flash, appearing as a golden charm over her sister's forehead.

Twisting her neck back and forth with audible cracks, Lei-Lei narrowed her eyes and whipped up a smirk, "Alright, let's go Smoky!"

With that, she took her fighting stance, claws raised and ready. The creature followed suit, its' eyes burning with an unholy yellow light and its fangs dripping a green venom. The fighters stood quiet, each awaiting the other's first move.

Then, without warning, a shape darted out of the long shadow of the nearest building, knocking the beast asunder with a surprised grunt and taking it to the ground in a matter of seconds. As the roar of a chainsaw preluded a bloodbath that virtually obscured the true gore of what was happening, Lei-Lei crossed her arms and scowled, knowing damn well what she was witnessing.

Tapping her foot, she waited impatiently for the noise to quiet enough that she could talk, "Hey pal, what's it gonna take to get rid of you? And… eh…", she winced as she saw her ghoulish admirer eating his fresh-fallen prey, "Is that really necessary?"

Zabel looked up almost childishly, a bit of raw meat clinging to the bone in his mouth, "Well I'm hungry!"

"You're dead. You don't need to eat. And I'm getting tired of you following me. Piss off, will ya!-?"

Zabel turned his nose up, indignant now, "Well! Some thanks to the bloke what saved your life an' all!"

Lei-Lei couldn't help a laugh, "Answering once and for all the question 'do dead men dream?'…"

But Zabel's attentions were elsewhere at the moment. Leaping to a rooftop in a single bound, he motioned with a thumb to the flashes on the horizon, "Oi! Get a look at 'is!"

As Lei-Lei glanced in the direction of the distant explosions, each brighter than the noonday sun, her casual glance became a horrified stare. "Oh no", she whispered to herself, "What if we're too late sister…?"


	6. Chapter 6: The Will to Fight

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Six: The Will To Fight

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

The sky above London was a riot of colors ranging from brightest yellow to deepest red, the stilled spiral of fires eyed by a yellow disc brighter than even the sun. Above the burning buildings of the skyline, this shape coalesced into a humanoid form.

As His eyes fell over the ruined gem of England, Pyron's expression stagnated into a disinterested glower, "So this is London… there is little left for me to obtain here."

"So, you're it", a low voice growled from below, "The Great Destroyer."

Pyron's gaze drifted over a figure, lupine in appearance and wreathed in blue and white fur, perched atop the only building in this area that was still structurally sound.

"I am many things", the golden giant's voice seemed to loom as He spoke, "But today I am your Aries."

"Spare me the monlogue", Talbain barked, "You're a spoiled child at heart; you take whatever you want for a moment, then lay it down to burn. Well your toys are all broken, and now you'll have to play a harder game!"

Leaping forward from the rooftop, the noble wolf warrior assumed a comet-like aura that flashed in blues and golds simultaneously as he hurled himself into the fiery form of his opponent, headbutting him at the nose.

His head barely budged by the incredible blow, Pyron returned the gesture, slamming His face into Talbain's muzzle hard enough to knock him away. "You mortals are all the same to Me", Pyron scoffed as His opponent fell to the ground below, "Weak and arrogant. I have yet to meet a one that could be called a challenge."

"And who are you?", Talbain sneered as he crouched there, streaks of red matting the fur over his skull, "Do you paint the sky with the fires of your imminent grace?"

"I shape the world with My POWER!", Pyron fired back, His roar resounding for miles as He hurled himself earthward, fist thrust forward.

Springing at his full speed, Talbain's leap was not quick enough, and a dog-like yelp rang from his throat as a burning hand gripped round his ankle, slamming him face-first into the pavement.

"So, all that training… and this is what you get…", Talbain sputtered the words, accompanied by an undue amount of his own blood, through his gritted teeth, "I can't even take out an overgrown bag of hot air. Some warrior I turned out to be…"

As Pyron's boiling hot hand rested down over the face of His would-be challenger, the steam rising off, a ray of golden light shot down, pelting Him in the cheek hard enough to knock him asunder, a flurry of gold bats escaping from the wound.

As He caught Himself on a foot and glowered up, Pyron caught sight of His attacker as well. The lovely figure hovering there was none other than Morrigan Aensland. Her expression was a complacent, yet focused, stare.

"To what do I owe your presence, Oh God of War", the deadly beauty mused.

"That which is obvious", Pyron crossed his arms, "I seek one so great as to challenge My Power."

"Well…", Morrigan closed her eyes, one arm crossing her chest as she gave a slight nod before opening those enchanting eyes again to stare down at him, "If it is a challenge you seek, I give to you now the greatest warrior yet seen by the Demon World. Myself."

"You would challenge Me so openly, with such little pretense?", Pyron inquired.

"Of course", she smiled that whimsical smile of hers, "Our desire is one and the same. We are the elites, deities among Our kin, and Ours is a destiny filled with pathetic wars won with little or no effort."

"At last, one who understands…", Pyron hovered into the air to greet his opponent, a ferocious smile dawning on his abstract face, "Very well then. I accept your offer, Victorious Nike. Let the battle of battles begin!"

As the titanic Pyron ascended to meet her, Morrigan's gaze drifted briefly to the fallen warrior below, glaring up at her from a puddle of his own blood. "Until you are ready, Son of Kreutz, this is where we part". Her voice stabbed like a warm knife into his broken spirit.

As she turned to face her suitor in battle, Morrigan was resolute. Hurling themselves at one another with a mighty shout, the two entities locked in a shoulder-to-shoulder grapple and vanished in a flash of blinding light, the shockwaves from their impact tearing into the damaged city like a hurricane.

As a sudden blackness swallowed the world around him, Talbain lay still, a single thought drifting through his shattered mind, "Kreutz… why am I fighting…?"

* * *

A massive grey zeppelin glided low above the city of Athens, barely high enough to miss the Parthenon atop the Acropolis as it passed. From behind one of the many windows on either side of the mechanical flying behemoth, Demitri brooded toward the horizon.

"Mars", he called to the bright lights beyond, "Why have you deigned to dirty your hands on such pathetic wretches as these? And yet…", he closed his eyes, "Ah, now I understand. A few examples must be made to draw out the true challengers. I can sense one now… Morrigan, is that you…? What valor… and yet, I cannot allow it. The God of War is mine to kill, and mine alone."

Thrusting his elbow through the glass, Demitri made an exit the size of an airplane door with the mere wave of his hand. Letting himself fall through the crack, he caught himself in a mid-air glide, his cape waving wildly behind him as he shouted to his servant, who himself looked on in shock, "I go now to intercede the bout! You are dismissed!"

The elderly vampire looked on, a mix of concern and consolation in his eyes, "As you wish, Milord."

* * *

As they appeared somewhere over Greece, the force of impact repelled Pyron and Morrigan from one another, each catching their stance in the air.

A ball of solar power forming in one hand, Pyron rumbled a cruel laugh, "An amusing display, Milady. And now we move on to phase two of the experiment."

"Experiment?", Morrigan scoffed, a ball of shimmering light forming at her fingertips, "You put too much thought into it. A battle is something you feel."

Released in twin throws, the projectiles collided, their impact sending explosion after explosion of light and sound through the atmosphere.

Pulling her wings around her as a makeshift shield, Morrigan sulked from between the black membrane cloak, "Oh, he's good, but I'm not satisfied yet."

A sparkling aura enveloped the warrior temptress as she split into two identical twins, each initiating a rocket-powered charge, which circled around to either side of Pyron, each taking full advantage of a flanking high kick to his chin.

Reeling from the blow, Pyron twisted his momentum into a spin, launching a large ball of fire at each of the twins as if flares from a star.

Both of her selves made a reflexive flip over their pursuing projectiles, which in turn spun round and caught the lady warrior from either side just as she fused back into one being.

As the flames surrounded her, Pyron watched with a pensive look on his face, "Could it all be a fluke, this warrior's apparent strength? Do I remain yet unmatched?"

His question was answered as the nuclear ball he had created drew inward, and Morrigan stood unscratched before him, her perfect skin more radiant than ever, as if a fire glowed from within.

"Tell Me", Pyron demanded, "What is the source of this power of yours?"

As she answered, Morrigan's eyes flashed with another emotion; pity, "Without the will to fight, power is but a fading dream. In doubting yourself, you have sealed your own defeat. This way it comes; can you feel it?"

With a startling, yet melodious laugh, Morrigan vanished in a flash of sparkling light.

"My defeat…?", Pyron pondered, as He looked to the form on the horizon, "What nonsense is this?"

Within a few moments, what had been a mere speckle of light emerged in sight as the figure of a man, dark cloak pulled tight around him as he hovered above the same mountains as Pyron, well within shouting distance.

"Then you are meant to defeat me?", Pyron shouted to his challenger, the thought somehow amusing to him in its' sheer absurdity.

"I will not defeat you, Red Mars", Demitri let the words roll out with a rasp, "I will destroy you."


	7. Chapter 7: Darkness and Light

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Seven: Darkness and Light

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

Since the beginning of civilization, mankind has asked itself, "where did I come from?" This question long ago became an enigma, unable to be proved by any means save faith. And yet, countless answers have been hypothesized ever since.

One such theory is that, in the beginning, there was only darkness; an uninhibited void. When light fell upon the universe, the void was forever shattered, scattering to the dark places between the light. Indeed, the denizens of Makai know this to be their origin.

Now, in the Twentieth Century, a new light has emerged on Earth, seemingly bent on scattering the darkness forever. But this time, the darkness will fight back.

* * *

Standing atop the remnants of the Parthenon, two lonely shadows watched as the battle between giants unfolded.

"They are unevenly matched", Anita said flatly, eyes staring forward with that blank expression, "The vampire is slightly weaker, and in his arrogance, he does not see this. He will be destroyed, like the others we sensed."

Donovan nodded gravely, "It would seem the God of War is more than a match for any one competitor… but if they were strong enough, could two defeat him?"

Anita looked away, "Two, like the tragic pairing of Aulbath and Quatos…?"

Donovan narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the solemn girl, a mix between pain and anger defining the lines on his face, "I will never know until I try."

As the emboldened vigilante moved toward the edge of the roof, a little hand gripped tight at his wrist, shocking him briefly enough to force a halt.

Anita's round eyes looked up at him, wanting to show something, anything in those pitiless eyes of hers, but failing the task, "Don't go, Donovan. Don't go die out there."

Donovan stared at her, his expression hardening into a glare, "This cowardice ends here. Deny the truth no longer! Behold! Here, before your eyes, the end of the world, and still you refuse to shed a tear! Stupid girl! I go to fight, for I still have the will!"

Turning away in anger, Donovan stopped again, this time in response to a sound; the sound of sniffling. Looking behind his shoulder, he found the little girl who had been so resolute in her denial of all things humane crumpled to the floor, shaking with silent tears.

"Donovan… if you die, just take me with you… I'll die too.", she muttered through her sobs.

A large hand placed itself over her shoulder, and she looked up to the steadfast face of her brooding friend, "Anita, we go forward now with no regrets. If we are destined to die, we die together."

Her head drooping once more, Anita nodded slowly.

* * *

With a wave of his hand, Demitri thrust back his cape, eyes glaring with an unholy fire as his body assumed a similar aura. Balls of red light forming in his palms, he kicked himself up at a backwards angle from his heel, as if the air were solid to him.

Pyron, standing tall and straight, simply outstretched an arm, a tremendous ball of solar power forming in the middle of His fiery hand.

Reaching back with a twist at the waist, Pyron chucked the airborne ball of death like a huge baseball, and Demitri fired no small hail of his deadly Chaos Flare attacks into the center of his opponent's blast.

When the explosive flash set off by the impact made sight impossible, Pyron found himself momentarily at a loss for the vampire lord's location before He was able to mentally shift to a more non-visual means of detection, and naturally, Demitri decided to exploit this opportunity by appearing in Pyron's peripheral vision, Chaos Flare in hand, and swiftly thrusting it down the throat of the devourer of worlds.

Dashing backward with all the grace of a skater on ice, Demitri pulled his cloak around him and waited for the inevitable explosion.

For His part, Pyron had halted, seemingly stunned, and then begun to writhe in mid-air, His body expanding and contracting in an aberrant manner for a short while and then, as suddenly as He had started, stopped, assuming an upright stance and glowering to the disbelieving Demitri, "My body encompasses the energies of the universe, and thus, such an attack is futile on me. Your effort, nonetheless, is commendable."

"This battle has only begun!", Demitri hissed, throwing up his cape to release a swarm of fiery bats at the Golden Shining God. While Pyron extended a hand, forming an invisible barrier of force for the bats to crash headlong into, Demitri vanished, leaving a faint echo of his form behind, and appeared behind Pyron, arms grappled around Him.

"And what is it you suppose you are doing?", Pyron chuckled.

"Great fool, can you not feel your strength leaving your body?", Demitri grinned that horrible grin of his, "Was it not you who said that your were a being of pure energy? Energy can be stolen, and so, you can easily be defeated by one such as I."

* * *

Peeking out from a cave in the mountainside, Lei-Lei's eyes flashed with anger, "You demon. I'll get you, and rescue mother's soul while I'm at it."

Inside the same cave, Zabel paused, tilting his head in a feign to look interested while he eyed the hindquarters of his lovely companion, "So, eh, how does yer mum fit into all this?"

Lei-Lei kept her eyes forward to the battle above as she spoke, "It was a long time ago…"

* * *

CHINA, 1746

The Forbidden City had never looked more beautiful. Beneath the splendid pagoda rooftops, countless golden lanterns hung in place. High above, fireworks could be seen. Outside its' lilac walls, the people celebrated en masse. Tonight, a new generation of _senjutsushi_, the mystical diviners of the empire, would step forward to receive their title and highest honor.

Dressed in the traditional golden robes of their sect, two healthy looking young women sat in silent meditation among the other students. Lin-Lin, her shoulder-length hair straight and brown, was the personification of tranquility. Lei-Lei, her also shoulder-length brown hair turned up at a slight curl, kept breaking focus to eye one of the other students whose …"tact" she admired.

As the sound of music floated through the air above like a gentle breeze, the students awoke from their trances and stood in unison, reciting the steps of the ceremony in their minds. After all, to botch such an occasion with a misstep would bring grave dishonor.

The Emperor Ch'ien Lung stood proud and tall, a ceremonial guard in full armor to either side, with others posted throughout the length of the city. His expression was shrewd, like a hawk that could find a viper in darkness if he stared long enough. Dramatically, he gestured his hands to the sky, "Open the gates."

As the massive gates opened, the people of China poured in like water, quickly filling the area around the main building, before which stood the emperor on the foundation, the only thing separating him from his kingdom being the flight of stairs which surrounded the structure.

"Tonight, the stars shine brighter in heaven", he shouted to the sea of shadowed faces, burning lanterns, and brightly colored flags, "For with the coming of the new Oracles, the clarity of vision that has made our Empire strong is renewed! Honor them!"

Hands steepled reverently before them, the students approached in rows of two, their kimonos a striking mandarin in the dark doorway to the imperial palace. Separating at the middle, each row took to one side of the platform front. When all ten of the students had taken their place, five on each side staring straightforward to the crowd, they turned as one to face their Emperor. The two girls, as fate would have it, stood opposite one another.

The crowd fell utterly silent as a woman of surpassing beauty approached, only the weight of her eyes giving a clue as to her actual age. It was all the girls could do not to let themselves smile at the approach of their mother, mentor, and greatest inspiration.

She approached the first student, the boy that the Lei-Lei had fancied, and removed the lavender belt worn round his waist in a single hand motion, taking a belt of deepest violet from the ten hanging at her own belt in another. Pulling it around his waist, she carefully tied it in place, finishing with a specific, ritual bow reserved for one senjutsushi to another. The bow returned by her former pupil, his part of the ritual was complete. He was, for the remainder of his generation, an Imperial Oracle of China.

As Oracle Shao moved toward her next student to bestow the honorable title of Oracle upon her, something unprecedented happened. A mighty wind ripped through the Imperial City, countless screams ringing out as all caught in the winds sharply focused path fell, lifeless, in a stream of blood.

Her eyes darting immediately to the sky, the senjutsu sensai spotted the perpetrator of this dishonorable act; a shadowed form, eyes glowing red with malice, nearly concealed itself against the blackness of the night.

The noise of the crowd in their panic was almost defeaning. "Sister!", Lin-Lin shouted across the platform, "I sense the presence of a Dark One! We must protect the Emperor!"

"Ya think?" Lei-Lei was already jumping the gun as usual, directly beside her sovereign, "Sorry for the inconvenience, your Worship, but it's our sworn duty to protect you at all costs." Without any more warning than that, the brash young girl slung the surprised Emperor over her shoulder and ran inside as quickly as she could.

While confusion reigned below, on the rooftops of the Forbidden City, a battle was taking place. The dark shape lumbering forward at her, Oracle Shao placed her fingers together, chanting a chi spell within seconds. The invisible barriers so created blocked slam after slam from the mighty beast.

Though roughly humanoid, the thing clearly had a sort of wings, much like those of a bat, and its' overly large claws seemed all too perfect for rending lesser creatures limb from limb. Those claws beat at the forcefield, again and again, until the creature finally stepped back, panting in frustration and baring its' equally large fangs.

"Have you tired of this game, Dark One?", the timeless master of the arts inquired, her tone like ice.

"Sister, the Emperor is safe! Let's go show that Dark One what we're made of!", a voice rang out from the platform; Lei-Lei's voice.

Its' long, pointed ears perking to the sound of that voice, the horrible creature's face twisted into a widened grin.

"No!", Shao screamed, trying with all her might to make it sound like an order and not a plea, but it was too late to halt the beast. It had already leapt from the roof.

"Sister, get out of the way!", Lin-Lin shouted, but to no avail. Lei-Lei stood frozen fast with terror. All her training had failed her in this moment, and she was not ready to die.

Fortunately, she would not have to. The demonic creature was suddenly halted, the entirety of its' form highlighted as if from within by a mystical, bluish light. Its' face contorting in agony, the creature bolted from the immediate area, leaping over the walls of the city in a single bound and screaming like a madman into the night.

On the rooftop above, the sisters saw the reason for this sudden turn of events. Glowing with the same light, her form nearly obscured, was Oracle Shao.

"Mother?", the girls wondered at the sight with a mix of surprise and confusion in their voices.

"Yes, my daughters", the woman replied, a brief smile coming over her face, "Your mother dies proud, an Imperial Oracle of China." As the light enveloped her completely, the Oracle's form merged into it, and as the light slowly faded, so did she.

Surprise had turned to shock, leaving the girls speechless as their fellow students surrounded them.

"What did she mean dies…?", Lei-Lei blinked, "She can't be dead, right sis?"

Lin-Lin was drug to her knees by the full weight of the truth, "No Lei-Lei, she is not dead. Her soul can never rest now. That was… the cursed Igyo Tenshin technique."

* * *

"So there you have it", Lei-Lei continued, her tone softening, "Our mothers soul, damned to dwell in darkness, and all for a noble deed."

"Sounds like a bluddy bad break", Zabel sighed. He would have said anything to keep her in place. Just like that.

"Naturally, we couldn't take it lying down", Lei-Lei's tone became more forceful now, "We made a pact, that night, that we'd free her soul from that place. The path to reach her seemed obvious; we tried the technique, the last one she'd ever used, but it didn't work the way we planned."

"So whut happened?"

"I became the gruesome creature you see here, and my sister, to keep me from losing my mind, became this little charm you see on my forehead. She still appears as herself in spirit, but she lost the privilege of a body long ago."

To this, Zabel shrugged, "Ya dun look so bad t' me."

"Well, at least it's a functional form", Lei-Lei blew him off, "It was that creature out there that stirred up the Dark Ones back then, and it's him doing it now. If I really aim to defeat them once and for all, I have to stop it here and now!"

"Good luck wit' that", Zabel mused, "I'm not lookin' to get m'self killed, 'owever."

Standing abruptly, Lei-Lei turned her back to him, "And here I thought you were at least a brave man…"

As she walked out of the cave, Zabel started after her, "Wha? I'm brave! Hey! I'm the craziest motha fucka in Makai, an' dunchu forget it! I'll prove it! I'll go BACK to hell! Y'see how crazy I am? I already been once! Ha ha!"

"Perfect", Lei-Lei smiled to herself, "There's a use for this fool yet."

* * *

"So, you seek to usurp Me as the mightiest warrior in the universe, then?", Pyron's tone was genuinely curious, "I must warn you then, bold Prometheus, with the gift of fire comes the pain of burning!"

As the heat of Pyron's body increased, unfathomably so, whatever plant life still flourished in the local area was scorched away by the nuclear tide generated from his body, leaving behind a barren wasteland.

Steam now rising from his own body, Demitri began to scream reflexively, clinging fast as his body began to melt away under the heat.

Pyron's diabolically cold laughter rang out, "Call thyself a vampire and refuse to fear the sun? You must be suicidal!"

His hands little more than flesh over bone now, Demitri was all too easily thrust back from his hold by the mighty Pyron, who turned round to extend his hand, another ball of solar power, this one nearly as large as he and a dangerous shade of red, forming therein, "You were powerful, for a thief, but unsuitable to defeat Me. Be gone!"

Firing the blast directly into his target, a tremendous explosion rocked the landscape. As the smoked cleared, Pyron was grounded again, a makeshift mountain of rocks marking the grave of His latest victim. "I must relocate that warrior from the Demon World", He thought aloud as He stood there, arms crossed.

"Hey, Sunshine! Yer my bitch!", a raspy voice crowed from nowhere.

"What cowardly obscenity is this…?", Pyron inquired as He looked about for the source.

Little did He realize that He was walking into a trap with His eyes wide open.


	8. Chapter 8: Fire and Steel

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Eight: Fire And Steel

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

"Fool, show yourself!", Pyron demanded, His hulking form strolling across the barren landscape impatiently.

With no more warning than the split second it took the ground beneath him to split, as if a fault had ripped the land in two, a cascade of rising blades caught the mighty Pyron from underneath, juggling Him like a rag doll as they rumbled across the rift.

Before He had a chance to break away from the trap, Pyron's ears throbbed to a sudden, violent ruckus that resembled what these mortals called "music", except that the volume of its' decibels was cranked far beyond what any normal hearing could hope to tolerate without severe impairment.

"I hope this is worth the noise!", Lei-Lei thought as she crouched behind a large boulder and plugged her ears.

The terrible blade attack finally subsiding, Pyron stood, His head spinning with the painfully high rifts and obnoxiously low grinds filling the air. Hands tight over His ears, Pyron stumbled about, His nigh deific hearing a liability at this point. As He rounded a corner, He was able to peek between a tear in the mountainside at the source of the disturbance.

Two lone figures stood atop a cliffside, their already surreal forms made all the more so by the framing of the fire red sky behind them. One of them, tall and lanky, grinded what looked to Pyron like a mechanical axe with such ferocity that it made the heavens tremble with the shrieks it emitted. The other, a blob-like thing, pounded on a drumset with such force that it made the earth shake.

Gripping at either side of the fissure, Pyron tore the mountainside apart as He screamed from the pain, "Mad Dionysus, I demand that you cease your revelry!"

"I like this dude! He thinks I'm a God!", Zabel grinned widely to his companion as his fingers flew wildly across the fretboards. In response, Le Marta merely rolled his eye as he kept the driving beat.

"Enough of this!", Pyron roared, forming a flaming ball in each hand and launching it at the duo.

"Now he's all mine", Lei-Lei smirked as she watched the fiery-tempered tyrant loose his cool. Dashing out from behind the rock, she orchestrated her claw-weaponed hands in a deadly twirl, her body assuming a pale green aura as she named her _chi_ spell, "SPIKES FROM HEAVEN!"

Piercing through the sky as if it were merely a barrier, flaming stone meteors rained at Pyron from above, pelting him into the ground with explosion after explosion.

With the reflexive accuracy of a true madman, Zabel danced around the ricocheting sparks from the attack, Le Marta clinging fast to his neck, "Think he'll live?"

"He better not!", Lei-Lei screamed across the lava-filled chasm between them where Pyron had been, "I don't think I could survive another one of your numbers!"

Zabel cocked another grin to that, accented by a nonchalant gesture, "Yer as cold as ice, baby…"

"What's this? Artemis on a hunt…?", a voice echoed from beneath the earth.

As the red-hot, roughly human shape of Pyron's body began to ascend from the lava pit, Zabel stumbled back, landing squarely on his backside, "The bastard's still kickin'! That ain't right!"

Sharply narrowing her eyes, Lei-Lei assumed a solid fighting stance, her claws raised to attack, "C'mon, you demon. I knew you wouldn't go down that easy…"

Standing atop the magma now, flames roiled over the surface of Pyron's body as He locked eyes with His opponent. The two fighters stared each other down, each ready to attack at any moment. Then, without a moment's notice, the tense standoff was interrupted as Zabel dashed by, threw Lei-Lei over his shoulder, and took off for the horizon at top speed. Pyron would have blinked, had he the eyelids, "What nonsense is this?"

"Put me down, you jerk!", Lei-Lei screamed, pounding on her abductor's bony back, "I have to kill this guy!"

"Eh, not if yer dead sweetheart!", Zabel shouted over his shoulder as he sprinted over the rocks, Le Marta clinging to one of his legs for dear life.

Zabel's thoughts wandered as a steady sweat broke over his undead body; a sweat he couldn't help wondering if the excitement of the moment or the steady increase of heat just behind him had caused.

From her undignified passenger position, Lei-Lei could see that Pyron's comet-haloed form had ascended through the mud brown peaks, looming just behind them like a dragon ready to pounce on and devour its' prey. Maybe it was the intensity of that aura getting to her, but the hunter had to admit that Zabel had a point. Could she win this fight?

The heat, weight, and sheer impossibility of the task weighing him down, the inevitable finally happened and Zabel's feet gave way underneath him. Propelling herself from him, Lei-Lei gripped her awkward companion by the forearm and leapt down a nearby crack in the land she hoped signaled a cave entrance. Fortunately, she was right.

Her body tumbling down the darkness and crashing on the rocks below, Lei-Lei wondered silently how long it would take the monster above to find them. For once, Zabel was thinking the same thing.

* * *

Pyron would not be coming, however. His eyes had fixed on a new opponent. Standing across the cliffside from Him was a tall, muscular man with a sword at his back. At the man's heels stood a small girl, her eyes solemn as a dirge.

There would be no standoff, and no attempts at banter between these two. The moment their gazes locked, a sword was drawn by one, and a charge made by the other. Fire and steel locked passionately, time and again, each collision a great explosion of light proceeded by utter darkness.

It was as if the world itself strained to contain the power struggle. The sky had fallen darker with the inexplicable gathering of stormclouds, and each flash of fire against the mighty hunter's blade was like a flash of lightning in the night.

His body vanishing in a flash of light, Pyron appeared at an upward angle, launching an enormous ball of fire at His opponent. Donovan skated to the side, hurling his deadly blade through the monster's chest as part of his movement. By the time Pyron regenerated the gaping hole and hurled Himself in for another clash, the Dhylec blade had already circled round, returning to its' master, who simply parried once more.

* * *

"Feel that? Somebody's going toe to toe with the demon!", Lei-Lei shrieked excitedly, momentarily forgetting her numerous broken bones.

"Not so loud, baby…", Zabel groaned. He'd had better hangovers.

"Oh, suck it up! Don't you know what this means?", the blue-haired beauty shouted across the darkness, "If this guy takes out the demon, things can finally go back to normal!"

"az the stupidest thing I've ever 'eard", Zabel scoffed, "_If_ this guy kin do all that, methinks he could be just as much trouble fer us. 'sides, who says he can? Looks to me like they're dead even."

"Maybe", Lei-Lei muttered as she looked to the flashing lights high above.

* * *

As the lightshow continued all around her, Anita watched in horror. Her expression could have never captured that horror though; it was the same blank look she always had. "Donovan…", she muttered.

At the moment she had lost everything, he had been there to hold her world together with his own two hands. And now he was going to die. This thing he was fighting; she could feel that its' power was without limit. Not like Donovan. He was a god-like man, but he was still a man. He could still die.

"Donovan!", she screamed into the storm, "Donovan, don't die!"

As the words hit his ears, Donovan cringed. She had lost faith already. To see her smile would have been worth his wasted life, and now, to hear her doubt shot through him like venom, eating its' way outward from his broken heart.

His strength failing him, Donovan didn't even try to block the next attack, and the pummeling rush sent his body skipping across the cold ground like a stone.

As the once great warrior lay there, his faith shattered, Pyron stood above him, the deific demon's face contorting into a wicked grin, "Giving up already?"

It was then that something snapped in Donovan, and a new reality hit him like a bullet to the head. If he gave up now, Anita would give up too. He could never stop. Never die. Not if he was to show her the true meaning of life.

Slowly rising to his feet, Donovan hefted his sword and struck again. But this time, Pyron was quicker to study his movement, teleporting away and striking the mighty hunter in the back with a hard elbow.

Standing firm, Donovan swung again with his heavy blade, missing once again as the entity vanished and reappeared in a horned gore to his ribcage.

Blood spilling over his lips, Donovan raised his sword once more, blade down, and thrust the mighty weapon downward into the fiery matter that had solidified just long enough to spear him so effectively. Just long enough to allow a killing blow.

Each impaling the other now, both combatants could feel their strength steadily leaving their bodies. In a matter of moments, one or both of them would be dead.


	9. Chapter 9: Dark Before Dawn

DARKSTALKERS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Chapter Nine: Dark Before Dawn

Fanfiction by Louis the Rogue

(Based on original story by Capcom Inc.)

Standing amidst the burning wreckage that had once been a village, Victor tossed aside a crunched thing that had formerly served as the head for one of the Phobos. As he began to slowly shift through the scattered stone, broken machinery, and the heavy stench of death, a battered glare was the closest thing to an expression he could manage.

In the distance, a familiar sound kept him moving, "Brother! Little brother, where are you?"

Lifting himself above the pile of death and destruction, he began to crawl, with the last of his strength toward that soothing voice. "Emily", he rasped, "Emily, I'm coming."

Closing his eyes, he could almost block out the smell of burning flesh, but the screams of the dying were a memory that would haunt him forever. It wasn't until he felt the caress of those perfect little hands on his cheek that he dared rest.

Taking his battered body into her arms, Emily helped the gentle giant to his feet, "Let's return to the laboratory, and forget about this world for awhile."

"Forget", Victor echoed, "Yes, let's go home. Home together."

"I'm going to take care of you, always", Emily promised, stroking her fingers through his tussled blonde hair, "Just like the doctor would have."

"Always?", Victor looked up at her with those big, sad eyes of his.

Emily just smiled that sunny smile for him, "Always!"

* * *

Felicia sat up with a groan, pulling the soft brown covers around her. Looking around at the room, the golden light outside meshed with the domestic shadows of the dim apartment. Amidst the strewn clothes, scattered weights, and other miscellanies he'd found room to put a desk, and on the desk was a letter she recognized. The one she'd written him just before she left for the states. He even still had her little picture at the corner of the frame it stood in.

"Jon." Everything was such a haze. When she had found him, bloodied and broken, she had barely been able to walk herself. Somehow, they had kept each other going just long enough to reach the house. The bed. In spite of everything, they had lived long enough for that, and she wished to God she could remember the details.

Pulling herself to her feet, she limped to the window and braced herself against it, looking out through the cracked glass at the morning light. As a sudden scent caught her nose, she looked down to see the indigo fur just under the ledge of the window. She was no authority on werewolves, but anyone could see he'd been shedding.

"Jon baby", she sighed, "Why can't you just tell me what's eating at you…?"

* * *

The sea to his nose and the fields to his rear, a beast was running with all his might. Running from the pain. Running from the truth. Running wherever "somewhere else" could be found.

The wolf formerly known as Jon Talbain could think only of that simple concept. Just keep running. Running forever. Running toward that cold, dark presence looming somewhere on the horizon.

"Just keep running."

* * *

Aulbath opened his eyes, slowly. Painfully. It felt as if every muscle had been stretched until the snapping point. For the first few moments he was conscious, that searing pain was the only thing on his mind.

Naturally, the next thing to flash through his mind was that instinctive need to get one's bearings. The smell of seawater filled his nose. That, and the sweet scent he had dreamed about so many long nights. "Aqueria…", he smiled dreamily.

At the sound of his voice, a slender, blue-scaled beauty of apparently the same race as he stepped into the ocean cave, an indigo-scaled infant held fast in her loving arms.

As she sat down beside her emerald-hued husband, who had managed to prop himself up on an elbow, she delicately relinquished the child to his protective hold.

"Alba", the noble merman grinned with paternal pride, "How you've grown!"

A sudden thought occurring, the grin vanished from Aulbath's face, "Quatos…"

Placing a gentle hand on his strong shoulder, Aqueria looked into his eyes, "He awaits you on the surface, dear heart. Go and see him when you are able."

"I will find you again, Furry One", he mused to himself, "Our business is not yet done."

* * *

High in the mountains, the cursed armor known as Hannya lay still, its' scattered pieces having been collected in a single mound.

Over the pile of crimson steel, the figure of a man dressed in a blue and white robe chanted quietly. Gesturing sharply with his hands, he drew Kien from its' place at his side and struck it hard into the mountain; right through the hole that yet remained in Hannya's breastplate.

As the rocks around took on a pure white glow, Oboro donned his metallic traveling hat, retrieved his walking staff, and began his journey down the mountainside. "At last", he whispered, the cool breath of Orin's spirit at his shoulder, "At last, we are freed from the demon's curse."

Had he remained but a few moments longer, the warrior spirit would have realized the awful truth of the armor. No sooner had he left than the field of white began to slowly gray, and then turned a sharp black. Within the pile of metal plating, two hateful red eyes could be seen flashing in the darkness.

* * *

Darkness and light flashing endlessly above her, Lei-Lei could feel herself slipping. Now, with the demon's end so near, she knew that her purpose had been fulfilled. "Finally, mother… we'll all be together now… all together, right sis?"

Zabel, still lying dormant from his fall, glanced over in response to the incoherent babbling and had to double take, "Woah there babe! Yer fadin' fast!"

"Yes, yes", she muttered to herself, her body becoming more and more insubstantial to behold, especially in the brooding blackness, "Just fade… away…"

And with that, she was gone. Zabel suddenly felt, for the first time since he could remember, _alone_. He had never felt attached to anything; to wander was his passion.

"Lei-Lei?", he muttered to nothing, "Where'd ya go, baby? You kin come back now, y'know. You kin come back now and not leave me here. _By myself_."

With no response, he began to grow more agitated, pulling himself to his feet and pacing about the cave, "She'll be back. Of course she will. Who could resist _me_? Y'hear that! You'll be back! You need me! YOU NEED ME!"

With a self-satisfied cackle, Zabel had found his release. He would have this cute little girl, oh yes, and then she would trouble him no longer. Nobody spurned Lord Raptor.

* * *

A flash of light. The strongest man alive, sword buried in the neck of a god. The ruler of the universe, horns buried in the lungs of a champion. The world cries out for such a loss, landscapes crumbling with their grief.

Absolute darkness. The despondent youth, at last, lets herself feel that which she has hidden away so long. Crumbling to her knees in tears that carry over the storm, she cries out in agony for her fallen friend. These feelings, though harsh, are her own. No one bids her to weep this time. She has chosen to feel. Chosen to live.

A second flash. A third warrior has joined the fray. Locking his arms around the breaking neck of the fallen deity, the Prince of Darkness moves in for the kill. Sinking his teeth deep into the dimming flesh, Demitri Maximoff smiles a cruel smile.

Once again, darkness reigns. This time, it seems, for an eternity. Then the void is shattered once more by the flickering of a nova-like burst. Two comets veer off from this tremendous explosion of white-hot energy.

One trails off into darkness and madness. The tragic fate of the vampire hunter.

The other to the sky, which flashes red to accommodate the will of the vampire lord. Makai has opened her arms; she is ready for a new Ruler.

The God of War has passed, His light a fading memory. Left behind are his legacies.

A legacy of hope. A legacy of despair. A legacy of blood.


End file.
